I want to try and probe a question that has been raised since Las Vegas, can a state regulate firearms on it’s own, given the free trade between jurisdictions. Since there is not an open electronic federal database for firearm ownership and transactions, one ipportant source of information is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, (ATF). They publish the trace of firearms that were recovered every year, and when possible trace the state where the firearm originated. This creates a matrix that is similar to what in economics is called Direction of Trade.
In this matrix there is the rows depict the source and the columns depict the destination. This lets one get an idea where firearms that are confiscated by the ATF orginated from. From this we can also infer which states are net importers of firearms and which states are net exporters.
I will explore this matrix in an attempt to better understand if firearms are more likely to flow between geographically adjacent states. In the end I will get to a shiny app that ties everything together, for those who want to stop here…
Here is the a short gif showing the app